In a complaint to be filed Wednesday afternoon, Danroy Henry Sr. and Angella Henry of Easton, Mass., say the officer violated the civil and constitutional rights of their son, Danroy Henry Jr., and demand compensation for their son’s death and their suffering.

Watch: Henry Family Statement

“The pain of losing our son so suddenly is insatiable and not only has his absence changed us forever, but his suffering will always haunt us as well,” the parents said in a statement.

The Pleasantville, N.Y., officer, Aaron Hess, was cleared of wrongdoing by a grand jury in February.

His colleagues recently named him Officer of the Year.

His lawyer, John K. Grant, did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Hess shot Henry through the windshield of Henry’s car Oct. 17 as the 20-year-old drove away from a disturbance that spilled out of a bar in Thornwood, N.Y., after the Pace University homecoming game.

Autopsy results found Henry’s blood alcohol level above the legal driving limit, but the family says Henry was not drunk.

Hess has said he was hit by the car, thrown onto the hood and had no choice but to fire to stop the driver.

In their complaint, the Henrys say the car was moving at a reasonable speed. They say Hess jumped in front of the car, “ascended” the hood and fired at their son for no good reason.

They say he “steadied himself and fired four shots.” The complaint says the shooting was “an unconscionable act, shocking to the judicial conscience and the sort of action which must be eliminated and deterred to preserve the values of a civilized society.”

It says Henry, who was a defensive back for Pace, “planned to pursue a career in the National Football League and/or business” and his death caused his parents monetary harm.

The lawsuit also names the village of Pleasantville as a defendant. It says the village contributed to Henry’s death by failing to properly train and supervise Hess.

WBZ-TV’s Paul Burton reports.

A message left for Pleasantville Administrator Patricia Dwyer was not immediately returned.

The lawsuit alleges civil rights violations, but there is no specific mention of race in the complaint. Henry was black and Hess is white.

The parents have previously refused to blame the shooting on racial prejudice, saying they did not know what was in Hess’ heart. However, they have requested a federal investigation, and the Justice Department has said it would review the case for possible civil rights violations.

The Henrys said in January they also planned to sue the town of Mount Pleasant because a Mount Pleasant officer also fired at Henry’s car. But their lawyer, Michael Sussman, said Wednesday they decided to sue only those who whose actions caused their son’s death.

No specific amount of damages was listed in the complaint. Sussman said in January the Henrys would seek $120 million.

DJ Henry’s blood alcohol level was allegedly 0.13, or nearly twice the legal limit. I wonder how the family plans to explain why their son was drunk driving and hit a police officer. this is a sad case and I feel bad for both the family and the officers involved.

You mean, Joey, the police officer who jumped on the car and fired into it w/o looking and letting DJ bleed to death? You’re right, I do feel sorry for both– this soon-to-be incarcerated officer and especially for the family who lost their son so unnecessarily.

Given the disgusting, insensitive comments made above, perhaps these people are fortunate enough to never have lost a child or known someone who has. Perhaps they’ve also never been terrorized or victimized by members of law enforcement.

yes i know the facts read them all, the cop was on the hood of the car because the underage drunk driver tried to run him over, that is assault and battery on an officer, he had every right to shoot and kill.

I hope that the officer(s) and the Town(s) involved in this lawsuit sue the Parents for the costs to defend this lawsuit. If the Parents can sue the Town(s) for the negligence of its officers, then the Town(s) should be able to sue for the negligence of their minor/dependant son. Do you remember when the Parents said “This is NOT about money”….Hmmmm $120MM….Perhaps they should have taught the son not to drink and drive….Oh, that must be the school’s fault. Perhaps they can blame peer pressure….they should sue “society”

It is only “unethical” because the Parents did not like the outcome. I feel sorry for the Parents’ loss….but .13, behind the wheel, moving forward….the officer probably saved other lives. I am not sorry that this kid is no longer driving my streets. I have NO sympathy for drunk drivers…AT ALL.

I share your hatred of drunk driving. Perhaps, the lack of ethics at the civil trial is one reason why the parents didn’t like the outcome. Also, the way you described DJ leaving the scene isn’t accurate, according to the eyewitnesses.

Are you people crazy, insensitve, heartless?? They lost their son for NO GOOD reason at all, bc he didnt stop when the police told DJ to stop. Police tend to alter stories anyways. And when have you ever heard of someone getting shot bc he or she didnt stop,or bc you were drunk, COME ON now people wake up, the police are wrong is this case. The family has every right to sue and I hope they collect millions…… To the family I hope you can find peace and I pray you get millions.

Clearly you’re either a member of this traitorous family, or you’re their equally traitorous lawyer. The police were 100% CORRECT and you along w/ all the clueless supporters of this obviously RACIST family need to leave America today.

Sad that many are more concerned about their own self righteousness which allows them to judge hurting families w/o knowing the facts. This family surely needs our prayers, whether they get the money or not. The truth will come out soon and they will at least have a little compensation even though it will never compare w/ losing a son.

I am so happy to see these parents are going after the office that killed their son. DJ posed no threat to this man–perhaps the color of his skin was the threat ? Too many times, officers shoot first and ask questions later. I find this family to be both very intelligent and quite classy. They were getting no answers from the police as to what exactly happened. According to eye witnesses, DJ did exactly what the officers asked of him. We all know whenever one officer lies, they all swear to it.

All that aside–how dare that force deem this man to be Officer of the Year–its disgusting !

and how is shoot to KILL allowed?????? how can you EVEN MAKE the comparison?! he was a young teen boy who knew he was in trouble so he took off… PAAA LEAAAASEEEEE.. if everyone got killed who did that? about 50 people i know would be out of my life…

I don’t know any cop or anybody for that matter who would jump onto the hood of a moving car. I feel for the family and their loss and they will never be “over it.” However, suing for money isn’t a solution either. This is just what our society has unfortunately become. The facts are that Henry’s blood alcohol level WAS above the limit, he refused to stop for the police, and he ran over a police officer. These are the facts. When the police direct you to stop, you STOP. Society today loves to switch the blame onto someone else, it is unfortunate we have become this way. If HENRY had lived, he would have been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in the least and assault with intent to murder at the max, as well as, failure to stop for a police officer. People love blaming the police. Remember why the police were there, to break up a disturbance. Get real people.

I think you need to reread the facts. First, the fact that the officer jumped on the car does make it strange because this is surely not protocol. Secondly, this civil lawsuit is a natural resort, by law, if the civil trial was unethical which is also a fact.

You continue to call the civil trial as being “unethical” and that that is a “fact”. Your, or the Parents’ “opinion” is not fact…it’s an opinion…and we ALL have them. If you would like FACTS….The kid was drunk…the kid was 20 (underaged for drinking) .the kid’s blood level was .13. The officer was cleared of ANY wrongdoing by a lawful Grand Jury. The kid was driving a car towards the officer. The kids failed to stop. The officer shot and killed the perpetrator. Those “facts” have yet to be proven to be anything but.

If a car is about to hit you a last ditch effort may be to jump up. Officers take the use of deadly force very seriously. They know any time they use their weapon they will be scrutinized. The courts have already exonerated him, the family knows there is a lesser burden of proof in a civil trial. Or the city will settle for 20-30 million. If the cop was wrong at all it wasn’t out of malice but fear. Now his life is ruined as well. Do you think he won’t be haunted? And who are the “witnesses”, No-one mentions their race. Remember the OJ verdict!

We’ll have to wait and see if the ‘stacked-deck’ Grand Jury testimony will hold up before the Feds when a true investigation will bring forth the remaining facts. Then there will really be ‘fear’ on these officers’ faces.

I am sorry but I do not agree with some of you, first of all I believe that he used accessive force why did he have to shot to kill and not just fire his gun up in the air.. I understand that his blood alcohol was high but he did not have to take the action he did. I think that the bar should be held liable for serving a minor but I have not heard anyone mention that.

Fire his gun in the air?? Really?? Are you living in an old cowboy movie?

Do you think that bullets just evaporate when they are fired in the air? What if it came down and hit someone in the head killing an innocent person??

The officer fired at the perpetrator, I am sure he didn’t stop to ask him if he was a good kid. The car was coming at him and he fired at the drives side windshield. He was not “shooting to kill” he was shooting to stop the car. If the driver was shot in the shoulder and had stopped that would have worked too.

You cannot positively aim through a windshield due to what is called refraction. The bullet will not go where you aim it, so if you are shooting through a windshield you are shooting at the center of mass in the general area of the perpetrator. The bullet could have hit anywhere from the head to the stomach in the center of mass due to the refraction of the bullet hitting the glass.

all black people want to do all the time is sue when a family members gets kill is always someone else fault they never want to take any responsibilities for their actions and im not racist im just saying the truth.

We have good and bad in every nationality< Do you believe that is the only reason these parents are suing.I don't. I really do not thing money is the issue here. Alberto I do not believe that the money is an issue here..

Jumped on the hood of the car?? Who came up with that one? Witnesses like the large group of drinking college students? You couldn’t possibly believe that. Somne previous poster stated that a couple of times like it was a slam dunk true statement. I don’t think so!! Someone also mentioned unethical behavior at the civil trial. What civil trial?? That has not occured yet. Have any of you tried facing down a group of drinking college students after hours?? Talk about wagons circling and unresonable dialogue.

College is party time I have kids of my own I know what happens when they are away who know the old saying while you are away the mice will play. I have seen many things when I worked in the Emergency Room for 20 years,. Kids do the darnest things but you need to teach them from the beginning what iis right and wrong. But I still believe that this should not of happened.

I’m sure you’ve seen a lot in your line of work, but we can’t assume this is what happened in this case. No evidence that this was a factor at all in this tragedy and as you said it never should have happened.